The present invention generally relates to camera dollies and tracks for supporting camera dollies. More particularly, the present invention relates to a curved support track system for a camera slider dolly which is collapsible and includes adjustable support mounts to enable adjustment of the inner and outer rails of the track.
A camera dolly is a wheeled cart or similar device used in film making and television production to create smooth horizontal camera movements, which would otherwise be a still shot. A camera is mounted to the dolly and the camera operator and/or assistant ride on the dolly or push the dolly back and forth to obtain the desired footage and shot.
The camera dolly is generally used to produce images which involve moving the camera toward or away from a subject, or generally parallel to a subject, such as a moving subject, while a take is being recorded, a technique known as a “dolly shot”. The camera dolly may be used as a shooting platform on any surface, but is often raised onto a track to create smooth movement on a horizontal axis known as a tracking shot. The best way to be able to replicate the same camera movement for multiple takes, which can be important for editing, is to use a dolly on a track.
Studio dollies are large and stable and can feature hydraulics and motors. These are the first choice for studio, back lot and location shoots when using professional cameras. A studio dolly usually needs a specialized operator called a “dolly grip”, and many are built for the camera operator to ride on the dolly with the camera.
Lightweight dolly systems are more simple, affordable and best used with lighter-weight cameras. Typically, these dollies support only the camera and the operator needs to move alongside. These lightweight dollies are often referred to as “slider dollies” as rotatable wheels or sliders engage the track and rotate along the track as it is moved by the operator. One such slider dolly is known as a “Dana Dolly”, which is a portable dolly system which is designed to be simple, practical, flexible and affordable. The portable dolly system is easy to set up and particularly useful for instances where the cameraman wants to do a fairly small dolly move, without a lot of setup.
Typically, the tracks for such slider dollies are comprised of two straight rails having cross members extending therebetween to space the rails from one another and form a track. The cross members may be pivotally attached to the straight rails such that the rails can be moved relative to one another so as to increase or decrease the distance therebetween. Curved tracks are also used, wherein rails having a length of ten feet or greater are disposed relative to one another to form a track.
However, these curved tracks have drawbacks. It can be difficult to adjust the spacing between the tracks to match the distance between the wheels of the slider dolly so that the slider dolly can be smoothly operated thereon. Moreover, the currently used tracks are not collapsible and the length thereof prohibit them from being transferred by means of small vehicles or being checked onto an airplane with other baggage and the like. Instead, these tracks must be transported in larger vans or trucks or must be shipped from location to location. This is a fairly significant drawback as it is not uncommon in the film industry to move from location to location from day to day or week to week. It is inconvenient and costly to ship the curved tracks from one filming location to another. This can also create delays in filming as the shipping of the curved track can take longer than the film crew travelling from one filming location to another. Independent or smaller filmmakers may not have large vehicles to transport the tracks and shipping the tracks can become a financial burden.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a curved support track system for a camera slider dolly having a plurality of rail segments which can be selectively attached to one another so that the track system is collapsible. There is also a continuing need for such a curved support track system having mounts which are adjustable to enable adjustment of the inner and outer rails of the track. There is also a continuing need for a collapsible curved support track system which enables the camera slider dolly to smoothly roll on the assembled track. The present invention fulfills these needs, and provides other related advantages.